Bennie
and the Jets will divide $2,000 in scholarship money following the
15th annual Grand Island School and Business Corporate Bowl, held
Tuesday night at the Grand Island High School auditorium.

The
team, consisting of seniors Lydia Bernatovicz, Sam Clarke, Courtney
Collignon, and Bridget Kennedy, were the winners after semifinals and
the championship match in the competition that matched teams in tests
of academic knowledge in a quiz show format.

The
victory, however, can be attributed not only to buzzing in first with
the right answer, but in what the winners called "very strategic
team planning" that had its genesis after Clarke and Kennedy's
Corporate Bowl team last year didn't make it into the money.

"Last
year we didn't even make it to the finals ..." Kennedy said. "...
because we lost to Lydia," Clarke added.

"We
lost to Lydia, so we got her on our team this year," Kennedy said.

It
was Clarke, the "Bennie" of the winning quartet (minus the
electric boots and mohair suit), who recruited Bernatovicz to the
team (named after the popular Elton John song).

"We
owe it to Lydia. I got to her first before other people put her on
their team," Clarke said.

The
move paid off after Bernatovicz rattled off a string of correct
answers at the start of the final round of the championship match
against Do You Have a Name? and The Team on the way to winning with
130 points.

"Apparently,
I'm in very high demand," Bernatovicz said. "I think the key is
to get a balance, because I know they have bio and chem stuff that I
had the sophomore year, and I have just completely forgotten most of
that."

In
the first semifinal match, Bennie and the Jets (130 points) beat Les
Petits Chouchou (55 points) and Too Sharp (0 points). In the second
semifinal match, the sophomore team of Do You Have a Name (90 points)
shocked two senior teams, We Have Potential (85 points) and Justice
League (20 points). In the third semifinal, The Team (115 points)
beat We Don't Want Him (45 points) and KHEM (20 points).

Corporate
Bowl is a freeroll for students - scholarship money with no
applications to fill out or transcripts to submit - thanks to
teachers, administrators and GISBA board members who helped organize
and work the event, as well as all the school staff, local businesses
and government officials who contributed their time, effort, and
money to the program.

"It's
great for them to do for us, because it gives us a way to earn extra
money for college," Collignon said.

"I
think it's really a testament to the teachers and to the business
community that we can put on such a great program that allows
students to show off, and allows the business to help support the
school," Bernatovicz add.